Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  You’ve probably heard that 1000 times, and actually it is true.  Breakfast gets you set up to do the work you need to do.  Not having breakfast or not having a good breakfast sets you up for a mid-morning slump.  And kids who don’t eat breakfast don’t do as well in school.

So, when your sleepy-eyed family comes out in the morning, what does a organic mama feed them?  Well, here are some of the things we usually have for breakfast:

Organic oatmeal with dried, fresh, or frozen blueberries.  Put a little real maple syrup on this for sweetness.

Organic eggs and organic whole grain toast.

Organic whole grain toast with organic peanut butter.

Fruit and yogurt.

I’ll bet most of these things sound like traditional breakfast items.   They are, but we just buy the organic version.  Sometimes I make whole grain pancakes or waffles or some sort of muffins.  But I think keeping breakfast simple is the best way to get people to eat breakfast every day.  Most of these items don’t cost too much more in their organic form.  Especially oatmeal (you can buy bulk organic oatmeal) and yogurt can be made at home or bought in large containers. 

What’s your favorite organic breakfast?

On January 31st, universities and schools across the nation will be conducting the largest teach-in ever attempted in US history. The event is Focus the Nation.  Focus the Nation is “a day of focused discussion about global warming solutions.”

This attempt at connectedness is important in a country that is as disconnected as you can get.  Even in my own community, I could not identify all the organizations and businesses that are making efforts toward sustainability and reducing global warming.  The events on Thursday may help solve some of that problem when local organizations, educators, and legislators sit down together to listen and learn about climate change. 

My hope is that this event doesn’t become another exercise in academia, where we all listen and nod our heads and then walk away only to be swept up in the business of life.  My hope is that instead, real connections are made and we, as communities, come out of this with plans and goals in hand.   

What can you do?  First, if at all possible, attend one of the Focus the Nation events in your area.  Some events are including family friendly activities.  Others will have on hand climate researchers, explorers, and other experts to speak of their first hand experiences with climate change.  Second, get connected in your community.  Climate change is a cause that needs a face.  Unless we begin to connect and work together in our communities, climate change will be just another item on the evening news.  And by the time we see that the face being effected by climate change is ours, it may be too late.  So, let’s focus nationally and connect locally.  

There is a time for everything says the book of Ecclesiastes.  The time to speak out is now.  I can’t remain quiet one second longer as I read that the FDA has deemed that both cloned animals and GMO ingredients are safe(?) for human consumption.  This is science.  Science can be wrong.  Science once told us the world was flat and Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was safe.  Science was wrong.

Common sense can tell us that when you alter one thing, it changes many things.  Altering genes in plants and animals may produce some desirable characteristics, but other parts of the animals and plants will be affected.  Why do we think ingesting these foods won’t affect us?

My state and U.S. representatives and senators are receiving calls and letters from me today.  First, they will hear that I don’t want cloned animal products to enter our food supply.  If they do enter our food supply, I want them to be clearly labeled.  Second,  they will hear that I do not want genetically modified crops of any kind in this country.  Any product containing a genetically modified ingredient should be labeled clearly (currently 60 – 70 % of processed foods on the shelf contain genetically modified ingredients according to this article).  And finally, organic standards should remain tough enough to prevent any chance of an organic product including genetically modified ingredients.  Please, I urge you, don’t wait, call and write.  There is hope, other countries are seeing victories because small groups of people have made loud protests.  The time to speak is now.

A new year brings with it promise and hope and a chance to start again.  I’ve read in papers, on blogs, and in magazine lists and lists of resolutions and ways to change everything.  The temptation here is wanting to change so many things that nothing actually ever changes.

I saw a book advertised, “In Defense of Food – An Eater’s Manifesto” that echoes discussions I’ve had with many people this year.  We were talking about organic and sustainable foods and how our farmer grandparents and great grandparents were so robust.  Not that they were without illness, it just seems that their early years were plagued with more contagious illnesses than with obesity, high blood pressure, or diabetes.  They might have suffered from these later in life but they still seemed be productive into their 80’s.

In light of the new year might I suggest that we focus on just one change for now.  This change is mentioned in this book and was the also the general conclusion of these many discussions.  Quoting the excellent advice of In Defense of Food,  “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” ; my suggested change is to eat simply.

Don’t eat anything that comes from a box unless it is a single ingredient, like oatmeal or rice.  As much as possible eat foods that look like themselves.  By that I mean foods in their original form like apples, carrots, beets, broccoli, and so on. 

Drink mostly plain water.  Hot water with a twist of lemon is actually a very energizing beverage.  Add to this some ginger and honey and you have a warming beverage.  I have nothing against tea, but the more exotic the concoction, the more processing it takes.

People often complain about the cost of their groceries (especially when you suggest they buy organic).  I am beginning to think it is because we tend to buy a lot of already made foods.  As I’ve begun to buy whole foods I find that I have a lower grocery bill even though these foods are organic. 

My own kids are used to opening the pantry and pulling out something to eat.  I’ve stopped buying processed foods so they’ve had to relearn to open the refrigerator and pull out fruit or vegetables to eat.  If they want a treat, they have to make it.  Funny, but they eat a lot less junk when they realize they have to mix ingredients together to get a cookie.  And guess what?  I eat a lot less too.  Maybe this will take care of another resolution I want to make, seeing less of me in 2008.

I’ll keep you posted on how we make out as we make this change and I’d love to hear from you if you decide to do this too.

May you have a happy and blessed New Year in 2008.

Deb